Dead Woman Walking – As the second episode of The Irrational begins, Alec Mercer (Jesse L. Martin) thinks about the explosion. Kylie (Travina Springer) catches him playing with fire. Alec says he smelled fire right before he blacked out. He is trying to recreate the small to see if it’ll trigger any memories. They talk about the man walking from the parole hearing. The FBI only got a shot of the man’s back. Alec thinks Wes thought he was going to get out until the man in question showed up. Wes is refusing to talk and even got himself put into solitary. Marisa (Maahra Hill) put together a list of logos from 20 years ago that might help Alec narrow it down.
Kylie wonders if he is just trying to spend time with his ex-wife. Alec says they might not be married anymore, but they still make a great team. Alec asks for a ride to campus since he has someone waiting for him in his office. Once he arrives, he sees CJ (Amy Aquino) and questions why she is there. CJ isn’t there as a journalist. Instead, she needs Alec’s help solving a murder. They sit down and discuss polonium-210 which was used to kill Alexander Litvinenko. CJ is convinced she was poisoned by polonium. She explains why she thought she could trust him with her last request. CJ wants to talk about potential suspects instead of possible treatments.
She has been doing a piece on a Belarusian oligarch. CJ had lunch with an informant named Yuri (Andrei Kovski) recently. Ever since she experienced symptoms, she has been trying to contact Yuri who hasn’t responded. Either Yuri did it or he was the target and CJ was collateral damage. The only one who may missed CJ is her writing partner, Gene. She hasn’t talked to her daughter since the Obama administration. Once Alec agrees to help, CJ collapses. At the hospital, Marisa tells Alec that the CIA and NSA are also getting involved. Gene arrives moments later.
He was hoping CJ was wrong about it being polonium poisoning. Gene confirms he was at the lunch with Yuri, yet he hasn’t had any symptoms. He told her not to meet with Yuri in public because people who poke around the oligarch usually end up dead. Marisa promises to speak to the department about getting him protection. When asked about Yuri, Gene says he remembers that he likes chess. Alec admits they don’t know how long CJ has left. Back at his office, Alec listens to Phoebe (Molly Kunz) and Rizwan (Arash DeMaxi) talk about CJ. Alec says they need to find someone who doesn’t want to be found. Phoebe and Rizwan suggest getting Yuri to tell them where he is.
They find out that he is wearing a shirt from Pro Chess Fans. They send him a message pretending Pro Chess Fans is sending him a free gift. Once the message has been sent, they begin waiting for a reply. Phoebe questions whether they should speak to CJ’s daughter, but Alec says she asked him not to. Alec receives a message from Yuri who is awaiting his free gift. He asks Phoebe to call Marisa and tell her to meet him at the marina. Once Alec goes there, Marisa messages him asking him to wait for her. He doesn’t wait for her and instead begins looking for Yuri. Once he finds him, he notices that Yuri has a gunshot wound. Yuri yells for him to run before more shots are fired.
Once Alec finds cover, he yells at the shooter and tells them they’re good at what they do. He tells the shooter to flee because it is the rational thing to do. Then, he suggests the person may not be rational. In the morning, Marisa complains that Alec didn’t wait for her. She assures him that every cop in the city is looking for the shooter. There was nothing on Yuri’s body so he probably wasn’t the poisoner. Marisa suggests the poison was meant for Yuri and the killer came to the marina to finish the job. Alec says an oligarch would’ve hired the best. CJ was probably the target and Yuri was only a loose end so they didn’t need to get fancy with him.
Marisa wonders what Yuri saw then. Phoebe tells Rizwan they’re going to ambush CJ’s daughter in the parking lot. Rizwan goes through the evidence that her daughter could be the killer, but Phoebe doesn’t there think is enough motive. They approach the daughter to tell her about CJ’s condition. Nicole isn’t happy and suggests CJ just wants it to be about her. She thinks it is best to leave her mother to go in peace. CJ speaks to Alec and Gene about whether it was someone other than the oligarch. Alec talks to her about her pain and his injuries. CJ says the steak she ate was a little too rare so she initially told herself it was food poisoning.
A couple of tables away, a man got down on one knee and proposed to his girlfriend. She thought it was a little over the top. Alec watches the proposal video with Kylie at home. When she brings up Marisa, Alec says they’re better off as work partners instead of love partners. Alec notices that the teapot is different in the video. Someone switched it out in a room full of people. When Alec speaks to CJ, she can’t believe she missed a teapot being replaced. Alec does an experiment with CJ to prove otherwise. He calls Marissa because the couple had to be the poisoner’s accomplices. When Logan (Riun Garner) and Sophie (E.J. Katz) are brought in, they explain that they do PR stunts.
They never really told them what the proposal was for. They were offered two grand for an hour of work and never told why. Marisa soon learns that they do not keep digital records. They begin talking about the logo from the van. Alec says they could go over them together, but Marisa doesn’t want to blur the lines. Seconds later, Alec notices that CJ and Gene did an expose on a tobacco company that showed they were marketing their products to kids. They get a picture of Brandon Schulz who is the VP of Publicity for Bramble Corp. Marisa reveals that polonium is naturally found in tobacco leaves. Alec meets Brandon and tells him that he was just doing his job.
He believes Brandon would’ve been a star if it wasn’t for CJ’s article. Brandon admits he approached and threw in some cash for fair reporting. The whole thing would’ve been a win-win, but CJ had a brand to protect. He was mad at first until he realized it was an opportunity to get in with more eco-friendly companies. Brandon tells him how Bramble extracted impurities such as tar and polonium-210. He says there was a lot of radioactive waste left over and exposing of it was expensive. Brandon found them a deal for half the standard rate. He eventually tells Alec that Gene helped him with that.
Alec catches up with Marisa to tell her the answer was right up in front of them the whole time. He asks for a ride so they can get proof. Nicole meets Phoebe and Rizwan to say she isn’t sure she is ready. Phoebe tells Nicole about her relationship with her mom and how she stayed away from her for a while. She thought there would be time later until her mother died. Phoebe urges Nicole to see her mother. Alec visits Gene who offers him a glass of iced tea. Alec says the world may finally see Gene for who he is now. Gene asks if the tea tastes okay so Alec takes a sip. Alec says whoever did this was a criminal mastermind. He believes they left CJ alive because they were playing with her.
Whoever did this will never get the satisfaction of looking her in the eyes and saying they won. After a call, Alec tells Gene that CJ’s condition has worsened. She has fallen into a coma and they don’t expect her to come out of it. Gene asks for some time alone. Outside, Alec smells of the flowers and remembers the explosion. Gene goes to CJ’s hospital room. He is sorry it had to end this way although it’ll be over soon. Gene admits it was him. He wants her to know that he beat her. CJ tells him he isn’t that smart before showing him she has been recording his confession. Gene is arrested. Phoebe tells Alec that CJ is going to get the treatment and she’ll get a second chance with Nicole.
Phoebe says her mother was late for a meeting, crossed against a light, and got hit by a car. Alec believes she is still playing the “what if” game. He thinks she should remind herself of the good times. If she can’t remember the good times, she should call Alec and they can find them. Alec speaks to his students about Gene who couldn’t stand the fact no one knew about him. CJ learns that her recovery is going well. Alec talks about the problem of looking three steps ahead. Nicole goes to the hospital to see her mother. Now, Alec tries to live in the moment while paying attention to every detail. He works on bringing his memories back. After remembering the logo, he tells Kylie that he remembered something.
The Irrational Review
The second episode of The Irrational was in line with the opening episode. The performances are okay and the camerawork is good for the most part. This episode’s story was a little played out considering how many times the Alexander Litvinenko story has been told. The whole idea is a little silly to be honest. It is just unrealistic that Alec would be able to say a couple of things to trick everyone into doing the things he wants them to do.
On the other hand, The Irrational is very watchable if viewers don’t set their expectations too high. Again, there isn’t much about the series that sets it apart from other network crime dramas so many will feel right at home here. If the series would give us more to care about in terms of character development, it may be able to overcome its primary issues.
Otherwise, The Irrational is going to be a bland watch that will kill an hour or so before it is forgotten. This episode scores a 5.5 out of 10. Recaps of The Irrational are available on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent site at this link. Learn more about advertising on Reel Mockery here.
